Balkans | TRNC’s reaction to the Greek Orthodox Archbishop’s call to “arm and mobilize”

The President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) Ersin Tatar and the Human Rights Association responded to the call of the Greek Cypriot administration, Archbishop of the Greek Orthodox Church Georgios, to arm and mobilize forces.

According to the news broadcast by Greek radio, Bishop Georgios, in his message on the occasion of Easter, called for “mobilization for national existence” and argued that “mobilization is necessary to ensure a national presence in the ancestral lands.”

As the archbishop wrote in the Simerini newspaper, “we can take up arms, we can defend ourselves well and we can win our freedom.” He called on the Greek Cypriots to stand against Türkiye’s plans.

“Harms peace and tranquility in the eastern Mediterranean”

In his remarks to reporters, the President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, Ersin Tatar, stated that he found the Archbishop’s statements outdated and that such statements are detrimental to peace and tranquility in the eastern Mediterranean.

He called on the Greek Cypriot authorities to make wise statements, and emphasized that he did not find the meaningless and unnecessary statements correct.

HRS: George’s Call, An Affirmation of Greco-Greek Expansion

In a written statement issued by the Human Rights Association working in the TRNC, there was also a reaction against Georgios’ words.

A statement signed by the head of the association, Hasan Yilmaz Işık, said that Georgios’ words and call were an affirmation of Greek expansion beyond a security problem.

The United Nations stated that the Greek Cypriot Orthodox Church was a pioneer in the Greco-Greek expansion on the path of unity with Greece, despite having all kinds of privileges under the administration of the Ottoman Empire, the United Nations said: I was invited to meet.

The priests were trained in archery

In the past, priests in the Greek Cypriot administration would receive shooting training under the supervision of soldiers of the Greek Cypriot National Guard.

The Greek Ministry of Defense, which made a statement after Greek priests from the metropolis of Constantia received a reaction on social media, claimed that the incident was temporary and accepted that the Metropolitan would provide financial support for the renovation of the shooting range.

The Greek Cypriot administration has allocated only 200 million euros from this year’s budget for arms purchases, and has raised the armaments program to the highest level in the past 20 years.

The recent attempts to arm the Greek Cypriot administration of Cyprus were met with a reaction by TRNC officials on the grounds that they threatened stability in the eastern Mediterranean.